All four representatives from the Southern Philippines Medical Center,
Department of Radiological Imaging and Sciences (SPMC-DORIS) representatives
bagged the top three prizes in the recently concluded Philippine College
of Radiology (PCR) Oral Case Presentation competition held last
February 16, 2016 at Chong Hua Hospital, Cebu City.

The SPMC-DORIS once again confirmed its spot as one of the best residency training centers in the Philippines for Radiology with its outstanding performance in the First PCR Oral Case Presentation Contest in collaboration with Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) International Visiting Professors Program during this yearâs Philippine College of Radiologyâs 68th Annual National Convention.

Dr. Adzner D. Absara bested eight other participants in his rare vascular anomaly case entitled âStrawberry Thigh: A Case Report of Kasabach-Merritt Syndrome in a Two-Year Old Male.â Dr. Omar Naseef J. Abdua was awarded second place with his case presentation entitled, âThe Male Medusa: A Complex Rarest Case of Extensive Scalp Arteriovenous Malformation.â Sharing the third place were Dr. Mark Ian L. Llagas, with his case on âBraveheart: The Rare Condition of a Coronary Artery Fistulaâ, and Dr. Alan Jay Lapore who discussed âThe Road Less Travelled: A Rare Case of Intravenous Leiomyomatosis with Cardiac Extension.â

However, little is known or even mentioned that these winners (a grand slam performance) were all graduates of the Ateneo de Zamboanga University-School of Medicine (ADZU-SOM).To win all the slots together in a grand slam could not have been just a feat of luck, but must have been a consistent characteristics common to all of them.

Dr. Adzner D. Absara who bagged the championship award is an ADZU-SOM graduate, batch 2012; Dr. Omar Naseef J. Abdua the second placer is also a graduate of ADZU-SOM batch 2011; and Dr. Mark Ian L. Llagas the third placer is also an ADZU-SOM alumni batch 2008.

When asked what gave them the edge over the others, they trace back their skills to speak and present cases in public and to make critical but analytical answers to the revalida question from the training they gained in the PBL curriculum of the ADZU-SOM.